WSU’s Mike Leach, UW’s Chris Petersen named to Bear Bryant Coach of the Year watch list

With UW ranked No. 12 and Washington State ranked No. 15 the head coaches of both teams have been named as two of 20 candidates for the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award.

UW’s Chris Petersen and WSU’s Mike Leach both have their programs off to 6-1 starts this year. The Huskies have a bye this week while the Cougars host Colorado at home.

Both teams started 6-0 but are coming off surprising upset losses. WSU lost 37-3 to Cal last Friday, and the Huskies lost 13-7 at Arizona State last Saturday.

Here’s the full list of coaches on the watch list for the Bryant Coach of the Year Award:

• Paul Chryst – University of Wisconsin
• Mark Dantonio– Michigan State University
• Dave Doeren – North Carolina State University
• James Franklin – Penn State University
• Scott Frost – University of Central Florida
• Mike Gundy –Oklahoma State University
• Clay Helton – University of Southern California
• Brian Kelly – University of Notre Dame
• Mike Leach – Washington State University
• Rocky Long– San Diego State University
• Urban Meyer – Ohio State University
• Mike Norvell – University of Memphis
• Gary Patterson– Texas Christian University
• Chris Petersen– University of Washington
• Mark Richt – University of Miami
• Lincoln Riley – University of Oklahoma
• Nick Saban – University of Alabama
• Kirby Smart – University of Georgia
• Charlie Strong – University of South Florida
• Dabo Swinney – Clemson University

The finalists for the award will be announced in December. In 2016, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney became the first coach in the history of the Bryant Award to win the award two years in a row.

The winner for the 2017 season will be announced on Jan. 10, 2018 during the awards dinner and ceremony at the Hilton Americas in Houston.